The Lenovo IdeaPad U300e

Lenovo is a technology company that is famous the world over for its classic business laptops. It is joining the current trend for ultrabooks and has recently launched the IdeaPad U300e. In this article we are going to have a look at the specification of the Lenovo IdeaPad U300e ultrabook and see whether it would meet your needs.

What is an ultrabook?

The ultrabook is slated to replace the netbook and the conventional laptop. The category was started by Apple with its Macbook Air, and is characterised by an ultra slim design combined with much higher specification than most netbooks.

Lenovo IdeaPad U300e specification

The Lenovo IdeaPad U300e has a good specification, and possesses a hybrid SSD combining 32Gb of storage with a 500Gb hard drive. Lenovo has stated it will use Intel’s latest processors, but it is unlikely that it will pack the new Ivy Bridge processors. The IdeaPad U300e is a less expensive, slightly lower specced version of the U300S which has a pure SSD, its slimmer although it lacks an Ethernet port.

Good points

Thin design

Ethernet port – not found on all ultrabooks

Aluminium chassis

Chicklet keyboard

13.3 inch screen

Bad points

Square design – some might not like it

Doesnt have a pure SSD which may compromise on speed

Not as thin as some ultrabooks

Alternatives to the Lenovo IdeaPad U300E

There are many alternatives to the Lenovo IdeaPad U300e, the most obviously being the slightly higher specced IdeaPad U300S. The U300S is a slimmer version with an SSD but is similar in most other respects such as the keyboard and screen size.

The Acer Aspire S3 is another ultrabook with similar specs to the IdeaPad U300e. It is around 1.3cm thick, claims fast boot times and has the same hybrid SSD/ spinning disk hard drive. There are a lot of other competitors in the ultrabook category, but these two compete purely based on their price.

Conclusion on the Lenovo IdeaPad U300e

The ultrabook category is definitely going to be the talk of 2012. Mobile processors have now evolved to the point where they can practically everything we want them to do, so now laptop manufacturers are competing on how thin and light they can make their machines. Currently a lot of these ultrabooks are very expensive but as more are released competition will surely push their price down to more reasonable levels.

The Lenovo IdeaPad U300e is a capable ultrabook that has been built to suit a price under its more capable sibling, the U300s. It does offer some advantages such as an Ethernet port, and so should definitely be considered. As always when choosing any laptop, ideally you want to handle on in a store to make sure that you can use it comfortably, the keyboard and trackpad suit you, and whether you like the design.

Please feel free to check out other articles that we have written including ones on the best mobile phones for 2012 from companies such as Apple, Blackberry and Samsung.

Do you own an ultrabook? Are you planning on buying the Lenovo IdeaPad U300e or one of its siblings? Please feel free to leave a comment below.